A Progressive Model For Urban Farming
Wild Wick’s Farm Tour
The night before our farm tour at Wild Wick’s Farm our daughter Nora came down with what feels like her millionth sickness of the summer resulting in a very restless night for all… needless to say, our farm tour had a slight change of plans. Instead of our scheduled daycare, I took Nora for the day as Peter drove to the Lakewood/Golden area to visit the four beautiful plots that make up Wild Wick’s urban farm. It occurred to me when Peter left for the tour that if anyone would have grace for a little kid-chaos it would be them – the very foundation of their farming lifestyle is to create an environment that includes their entire family.
Doug and Jamie Wickler make up the husband-wife farming duo, while their two young kids complete the crew, often running around munching fresh vegetables off the vine or even lending a helping hand! After 15 months of parenting myself, I can’t help but be utterly impressed with the balancing act of integrating farming and parenting. No commute, no compartmentalization, and in the summer when the harvest season comes – no school. The ideals of having a family that picks and eats veggies together brings with it vital teachings on land stewardship, healthy eating, biology, outside play, and a completely unique picture into their parents’ livelihood. When Peter asked Jamie “Would you do it all again the same way?”. She replied confidently and without hesitation, “I would. The benefits for our kids are just too good, and besides I don’t think I could stand not to grow food.”
Since I was unable to attend the farm tour myself, I’m going to hand the rest of the blog post to Peter!
One of the things I love most about small business is the often messy but inevitably beautiful journey of integrating passion, work, family, community, and every other rhythm your life may hold into one place. It is also perhaps the most ludicrous part of an owner-operator business - lines frequently blur between what work, rest, play, hobby, and parenting look like. It can be unsustainably restless, or tirelessly driven in the most perfect way imaginable. Margo and I get to interview and advocate for small, passionate businesses for a living, and I always walk away with a deep, deep rooted affection for the people behind the madness. As a small business owner myself, I can’t help but feel seen in the midst of what others may think is simply too exhausting. The Wickler’s live by ideals and hypotheses before all else, and I think that’s why I like them so much.
The Wicklers may have shifted the paradigm of growing a family in the city, but they have totally flipped the paradigm of traditional farming methodology on its head. The 80 or so varieties of vegetables and flowers that they bring to the market over the course of the season are grown on just four different 1/8 acre residential yards in the Lakewood/Golden area. They have developed a hyper-efficient organizational system on the plots of land, farming each with absolute diligence and thoughtfulness. In order to accomplish the yields that they are achieving during the season, they lean heavily on organic methods of soil balance, testing the soil often to monitor and amend if necessary. As I walked through the rows and rows of healthy plants and flowers on raised earthen beds to either side of me, I couldn’t help but think that these two Mines graduates were made for this farming puzzle: how can someone maximize under-utilized land for food production, while developing an economic model that allows for low-cost land ownership and multiple revenue streams? The Wicklers are just a few years into their full time commitment to farming, and they say that it’s not just a concept anymore, but a proven model for how farming can work in an urban setting. I kept coming back to the thought that in 10 or 20 years, they could be helping local municipalities figure out how to lean into local agriculture (and fund it!) with a time-tested, progressive model for urban farming.
If you stroll past Wild Wick’s Farm on any given Saturday morning, you’ll likely notice some relatively neat yet bountiful mounds of produce, well organized stacked-crates full of greens and veggies, and buckets of flower bouquets bursting with bold colors, character, intention, and style. Flowers are a core tenant of what the Wicklers, and specifically Jamie grows, tends to, harvests, and arranges. Jamie spent years working for the CSA program at The Botanic Gardens in Chatfield where she gleaned all sorts of flower farming knowledge that has carried over into her farming today. I have no idea what percentage of the farm is flowers, but the balance certainly creates a pleasant atmosphere for a stroll and a chat through the rows and rows of bright colors.
Before we progress, I want to make sure our readers can fully appreciate that this farm is, in total, one half of an acre. Every week the Wickler’s are bringing produce for two farmers markets and dozens of CSA members… on half an acre of land… on four residential plots. They accomplish this with creative layouts, soil health, plant diversity and rotation, and a lot of diligence and hard work. Doug and Jamie (in all the spare time they have) also teach others how to farm, help connect new farmers to land opportunities, and coach through possible economic models of farming through GoFarm.
As I write this Nora, our daughter, still has a fever, and I’m reminded that the roller coaster never ends. We have never been promised an easy path through life, nor a simple way to find solace in the turbulence. What Wild Wick Farms reminds us is that we can chase passion with our whole hearts and minds, surround ourselves with loved ones, and help others do the same. So go find yourself some beautiful produce or flowers from the Wickler’s this week and bask in the goodness of toil, diligence, and perfectly messy integration.